Schools Forum

The Schools’ Forum is a statutory body comprised mainly of headteachers and governors from Bristol. It usually meets once a (new) term and is independent of Bristol City Council, but supported by it.

From April 2006, its role has significantly changed. It now considers proposals drawn up by the council to allocate the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). This is received by Bristol City Council from the DfES and is earmarked for education funding in Bristol.

Currently the DSG is principally allocated through the use of the “formula”. Any changes to this “formula”, and any additional specific funding proposed by the council must be approved by the Schools Forum. This accounts for approximately 70% of the total funds spent on education in Bristol each year.

In order to undertake its role of dialogue with the council, the Forum is also interested in how our budget for Education is spent, to ensure that it understands the “wider” picture as well. It will be seeking to understand the financial implications of various recent initiatives, such as

• PFI - Private Finance Initiatives
• BSF - Building Schools for the Future
• The inclusion programme of placing special schools alongside secondary schools
• The creation of further Academy schools.

Because of its role to consider local authority proposals, the Schools’ Forum is unable to ‘champion’ any individual causes, but is always interested to be advised of issues.

The Schools Forum draws representatives from schools, governors and non-school members.

School members
Secondary (3 Headteachers, 3 Governors), Primary (5 Headteachers, 5 Governors), Special (1 Headteacher, 1 Governor), Nursery (1 Headteacher, 1 Governor).

Non-School Members
Bristol Early Years Childcare Partnership (1), Diocese of Bristol Board of Education (1) Diocese of Clifton Board of Education (1), Bristol Race Forum (1), Recognised Teaching Professional Associations (1), Support Staff Trades Unions (1), 14-19 Representative (1).

All meetings are open to the public. Contact the Clerk for more details.

The Chair of Schools Forum is currently David Yorath, Governor at Cotham Secondary School. Chris Gardner is the Vice-Chair, Headteacher, Ashton Park Secondary School.

The Clerk to Schools Forum is Billy Forsythe whose contact details appear right.